Kate's Modest Wedding Dress - Get Yours Here

A Return to Modesty?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Well it's always good to see a bit of promotion of Marriage and I think we have had a good bit of that with the royal wedding. Nice to hear a few good bible readings and sermons on the subject.
Perhaps it is a bit churlish to say it's always good to see a cohabiting couple put things right, but it's true. And in this case, we can always hope that it will nudge a few hundred thousand couples in the right direction!
But the absolute moral triumph of the day was the dress! I'm not saying it was perfect (because if I did someone would no doubt correct me!) but it had a top - I mean one that went all the way up to shoulders! A skirt that didn't split to the waist, anywhere. A back. And - wait for it - sleeves! Sleeves! Men, you won't understand how hard it is to get wedding dresses with sleeves on them, but it is ridiculously near impossible. And if you do find one it is sure to be a ludicrous colour or style.

I found a blog by Ashley (a homeschool graduate) girls guide to home life who spotted early on the day that the dress bore a striking resemblance to Grace Kelly's (having blogged on her dress before).

Mind you, as the photo, below, of Her Serene Highness Princess Grace with her bridesmaids et al shows, the dress is by no means identical.

Hat tip to Ashley for digging up some great pictures and for kindly giving us the Vogue pattern number for Princess Grace's dress (V2979 - over at their USA site ) so we can make our own! It's close enough to make an exact copy of Kate's dress with only minor adjustments to the pattern. So anyone preparing to marry who liked Katherine Middleton's dress check it out here!

The Vogue Pattern

Let's hope Kate's dress influences bridal fashion heavily for some time to come - a royal wedding gown can change the face of bridal fashion for a decade or more. It certainly needs some modest influence! As one priest said recently after a wedding, "What with the backless bridesmaid's dresses and the strapless bridal gown, I scarcely knew where to look!".

Clare McCullough

Our Lady Mother of Good Counsel 26th April

Though it won't be celebrated this year, this being Easter Week, today the 26th April is usually the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel.
The picture shows the original miraculous image of Our Lady of Good Counsel, with baby Jesus holding on tightly round her neck and also onto the neck of her dress. The many beautiful copies usually share these features
A powerful intercessor and guide, Our Lady Mother of Good Counsel has been a particular patron of many Popes.
Pope John Paul II once advised his listeners to pray to the Mother of Good Counsel to be able to interpret the signs which the Holy Spirit places in our life.
She has indeed been a Mother of Good Counsel to the Good Counsel Network.
In 1968 Our Lady's feast day, the 26th of April was the last day in England and Wales before legal abortion came into force on 27th April.

Prayer to Our Lady, Mother of Good Counsel

O, Holy Virgin, to whose feet we are led by our anxious uncertainty in our search for and attainment of what is true and good, invoking thee by the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel we beseech thee to come to our assistance, when along the road of this life, the darkness of error and of evil conspires towards our ruin by leading our minds and our hearts astray.
Do Thou, O Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, Enlighten the doubtful and the erring, that they be not seduced by the false appearances of good, render them steadfast in the face of the hostile and corrupting influences of passion and of sin.
O Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from Thy Divine Son a great love of Virtue and, in the hour of uncertainty and trial, the strength to embrace the way that leads to our salvation. If Thy hand sustains us, we shall walk unmolested long the path indicated to us by the life and words of Jesus our Redeemer; and having followed freely and securely, even in the midst of this world's strife, the sun of truth and justice under Thy Maternal Star, we shall come to the enjoyment of full and eternal peace with Thee in the Haven of Salvation, Amen.

Clare McCullough

The Resurrection - For the Born and Unborn

A happy and Blessed Easter to you!

Celebrating the miracle of the Resurrection and the opening of the way to eternal life is always an incredible time to be involved in pro-life work.

Although they had seen Him raise others from the dead, and He had promised that they would do greater things than He had, none of the apostles expected Jesus to rise from the dead Himself.

We too are often doubtful of Christ's ability or willlingness to give life back where it has ended.

I mentioned recently in a blog how many women we have seen lately with incomplete abortions.

One of these, Una, came to us some time ago with her boyfriend asking for an abortion.

"I don't want to do it, if he would support me I would keep the baby" she said.

We hoped that education, encouragement and support could change her boyfriend's mind, but no. He had raised a couple of families already, thank you. And no part of the truth was going to get in the way of getting rid of this one!

Prayer didn't seem to effect the desired for change on him either (although of course we never know what prayer HAS done...).

We became Una's allies, planning the support she would need, and trying to protect her from the negative influence of John. But despite all prayer - and there was much - we suddenly lost contact with Una, just for 48 hours, she turned off her phone and gave in. She took the abortion pill. She soon called us again telling us what she had done and how remorseful she felt, how much it had affected her relationship for the worse.

Then suddenly came another call -a scan showed that she was still pregnant and 2 weeks further along than the abortuary had told her - perhaps this was why the abortion pill failed? - or perhaps it was because they are always tampering with the appointed times for giving the pills, to try and save on their costs, the abortuary had given her the two pills on the same day. An alert went out to our praying members.

We brought Una in with John again. This time we showed him a graphic DVD of what would happen in the abortion, with his permission and at Una's request. He left ranting and raving about the troubles of raising a child. He seemed unmoved. But Una was changed. She left the room to cry while the DVD was finishing and came back determined to keep her baby, boyfriend or no boyfriend.

We took her for another scan. I sat beside her, praying the St Michael prayer, as we often do at scans where the baby's life is in the balance and the doctor who kindly printed her about 14 scan pictures, assured her the baby looked healthy and said "The baby is due on 29th September" - which of course is the Feast of St Michael!

Una still has a long way to go. Her baby's state of health won't be clear for some time, though we have seen healthy babies born after the abortion pill has been taken. And John, though now supporting her, still wants her to give the baby up when it's born - not something she intends to do, so prayers are still needed. But for Una, it feels like a second chance, like a real resurrection and she is both repentant of her past mistakes and hopeful for her and her babies future.

Clare McCullough

Bishop Hopes is a True Shepherd of the Pro-Life Movement

Bishop Hopes is a True Shepherd of the Pro-Life Movement, here he is (in black next to the 2 Friars)leading the prayers at the Twickenham abortuary on Saturday 16th April. For information about other vigils at abortuaries see here or here.

Stuart McCullough

Botched Abortion Driftwood

Perhaps its because we are meeting more women immediately after their abortions through both our own Whitfield St abortuary Vigil and the Forty Days for Life Vigil at Bedford Square, but it suddenly seems as though we are meeting more and more victims of botched abortions. These women are like driftwood washed up on the shore. No-one seems to know what to do with them, the abortuary fobs them off, the NHS seems embarrassed - and no wonder since they are in bed with bothe BPAS and Marie Stopes. Sadly there is no bank of Pro-Life doctors or nurses, surgeons or gynecologists to turn to for help. Though there are some good pro-life doctors out there, they have usually avoided gynecology and obstetrics in order to avoid abortion and so few if any are specialists in the fields we need them in.

Just recently we have seen a number of these women in special need. Una who took the abortion pill but found herself still pregnant - perhaps because the scan done at the abortuary was 2 weeks out in dating her baby. Sandra who had a surgical abortion but was told by the abortuary that it was a "missed abortion" - i.e. she is probably still pregnant. Pamela who had an abortion, was told by the abortuary a fortnight later that everything was gone, but who later had to have a suction "procedure" to remove tissue from the womb.

Additionally complications of abortion arise when women are not offered all the facts and real life-giving choices beforehand. Kate, a victim of rape who was shuttled through an abortion at the speed of light without an offer of any alternative help, panicked after taking the first pill, recognised that abortion is wrong and changed her "choice" - she is still waiting to see if her baby will survive.

These are just a handful of the women we have seen recently. How many more are coping with these horrible situations, without good medical care and without support?

Please pray for these women - the driftwood remains of a holocaust - their suffering is tremendous. May God save the lives of their babies where there is still a chance of this, and the souls of the Mothers and those who performed the abortions on them.

Clare McCullough

C.S. Lewis on Masturbation

I nicked the following quote from the Porn Effect's excellent blog which you can find here. It is such a perfect explanation of why masturbation is wrong and soul-destroying. And this is one of the many things no-one wants to talk about today. Priests? yes not them either, but parents particularly are shirking these subjects today I find, with devastating results for marriage, family life and the unborn. That selfishness which Lewis talks about here, once it takes root, bears the rotten fruit of the culture of death.

"For me the real evil of masturbation would be that it takes an appetite which, in lawful use, leads the individual out of himself to complete (and correct) his own personality in that of another (and finally in children and even grandchildren) and turns it back; sends the man back into the prison of himself, there to keep a harem of imaginary brides. And this harem, once admitted, works against his ever getting out and really uniting with a real woman. For the harem is always accessible, always subservient, calls for no sacrifices or adjustments, and can be endowed with erotic and psychological attractions which no woman can rival. Among those shadowy brides he is always adored, always the perfect lover; no demand is made on his unselfishness, no mortification ever imposed on his vanity. In the end, they become merely the medium through which he increasingly adores himself…After all, almost the main work of life is to come out of our selves, out of the little dark prison we are all born in. Masturbation is to be avoided as all things are to be avoided which retard this process. The danger is that of coming to love the prison." -C.S. Lewis

3 Women, 14 Abortions.

As we have blogged about recently, we have had a great increase in clients in the first quarter of this year. Many have come to us very set on abortion, but by God's grace we have already seen many "turnarounds" this year, where girls have opened their heart to their baby and chosen life instead. Add to this the girls changing their minds at our Whitfield St abortuary Vigil and then the turnarounds from 40 Days for Life at Bedford Square abortuary and you will see why we are run off our feet!

In the last week we have seen a lot of very broken women. 3 girls that we spoke to had between them a total of 14 previous abortions. It takes something to move from that lifestyle to one of acknowledging the sanctity of their baby's life. These ladies can be absolutely terrified to face their pregnancy and the baby it will bring them, because they know it will force them too deal with the previous abortions too and the thought of that is simply overwhelmingly unbearable.

Please keep these ladies in your prayers. And please remember our appeal for babygoods and newborn clothes. We especially need boys clothes 0-6 months and light buggies but ones which are suitable for newborns (i.e. they lie flat). We need 2 twin buggies at present - the one in front of the other tandam type, not side by side twins as women can't get them on the bus - their main form of transfer. For more information on what we need click here, and please spread the word.

Lastly, if you or someone you know are suffering after an abortion, click here to call us for one-to-one counselling or to get a number for ARCH telephone counselling or Rachel's Vineyard weekend Retreats.

Clare McCullough

Abortion or Not? That is The Question?

Since Advent last year Good Counsel has been counselling and praying outside the marie stopes abortuary at 108, Whitfield Street, London, W1T 5EA. We started with 4 mornings a week and are now there 9am-1.30pm Monday to Friday each week. It is hard to say what impact this has had, how many women have just gone home when they see us?

Eddie started talk to a young women, 'Sam' who looked quite upset. While arranging someone to bring her to Good Counsel in a cab she wandered off, but came back and came to our centre. She has many problems, not least the fact that she has not been in the Country very long and she has reason to believe that her Husband who came here ahead of her, is having an affair!

She left our centre planing to return to the abortuary for her consultation. She does not know what she will do and neither do I. But I do know that if no one was there to offer her help and if no one was there praying for her she would have just gone straight in! Please keep 'Sam' in your prayers.

God bless all of you who pray and/or counsel at this abortuary or any other.

Stuart McCullough

A Good Excuse Not To Pray At Whitfield Street Abortuary

I send out texts inviting people to come and pray outside marie stopes house, the abortuary in Whitfield Street, London. (Nearest Underground Stations, Warren Street or Great Portland Street). At the moment we are there 9-1.30pm Monday to Friday each week. You are most welcome to come and join us, we pray the Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, Stations of The Cross etc.

Some people reply to my text message to inform us what time they will be there and others to say that they will pray, but cannot attend because of work, college, school or whatever. But the best 'excuse' to date was this reply, "We will be outside the abortuary in Brighton tomorrow."

Donate to Good Counsel

Stuart McCullough

Mass for Good Counsel

There will be an Old Rite Mass organised by the Latin Mass Society, on Friday 8th April at 6.30pm at Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane, London. This Mass is offered for the work of the Good Counsel Network.

Pray at an abortuary with an English Bishop

Pro-Life Vigil at BPAS abortuary, 15 Rosslyn Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TE1 2AR, will be held ON 16TH APRIL, 2011. FROM ST. MARGARET’S CHURCH, 130 ST. MARGARET’S ROAD, EAST TWICKENHAM, TW1 1RL LED BY BISHOP ALAN HOPES, THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS OF THE RENEWAL AND WITH FULL POLICE CO-OPERATION (Do sign up to say a Rosary for Bishop Hopes and any other Bishops that you like) TIMES (APPROX.) ARE AS FOLLOWS: 9.00AM HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS AT ST. MARGARET’S CHURCH 9.40AM EXPOSITION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT 9.50AM PRAYERFUL AND PEACEFUL PROCESSION TO BPAS ABORTUARY, PROCESSING WITH IMAGE OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, HOLY ROSARY AND HYMNS 11.30AM RETURN PROCESSION WITH PRAYERS AND HYMNS 12.00PM BENEDICTION 12.15PM BREAK FOR TEA AND GET TOGETHER. PLEASE BRING PACKED LUNCH Directions: St. Margaret’s Station, South-West Trains. St. Margaret’s Church is opposite the Station. By road – Close to Chertsey and Twickenham Roads (A316) and Richmond Road (A305). Ample car-parking. PLEASE JOIN US – YOU REALLY DO MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE. AND PLEASE TRY TO BRING SOMEONE WITH YOU. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE UNABLE TO JOIN THE PROCESSION, PLEASE CONSIDER COMING TO ST MARGARET’S CHURCH FOR ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT DURING THE VIGIL, OR BE WITH US SPIRITUALLY.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: THE HELPERS OF GOD’S PRECIOUS INFANTS P.O. BOX 26601, LONDON, N14 7WH Telephone: 020 8252 3109 E-mail: info@hgpi.co.uk Web: www.hgpi.co.uk or for a poster click here.

For details of a Central London weekday vigil see Good Counsel.

Stuart McCullough

Good Counsel Donations via Paypal

Our new paypal facility is now up and running on our website, so you can now donate online more easily.

Money is still very tight, so we would appreciate any support you can give, and thanks to those who have already helped. We are still in need of a variety of baby goods, especially newborn boys clothes and moses baskets and buggies in good condition. Please spread the word.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARE

Today is the Birthday of Clare McCullough, founder of The Good Counsel Network and this blog. So Happy Birthday from all the staff and volunteers! And even more so from the thousands of babies who have been born instead of aborted, from your efforts and God's Grace!